The present invention relates to filters having pleated-type filter media, and more particularly, to a pleat fold spacer for holding the pleats of the filter media apart.
Filters having a filter core of pleated filter material are well known in the art. It is also well known in the art that the flanks of the pleats be separated by corrugated spacer members extending into the pleats between the flanks from opposite sides of the filter core to prevent collapse of the filter core and provide gas passages to the extended filtering surfaces.
A drawback of the heretofore known corrugated spacer members has been the inherent tearing stresses which they place on the filter media at the pleat fold turns which form the pleats of the media.